Battening Down the Hatches
by Stessa
Summary: Face to face with her mother again, Rikki has to choose between her friends and the life she's offering. For Rikki, the choice is not hard to make, though her mother is not giving up. She wants her daughter back. Rikki-centric, Zikki, Clewis and EmmaxAsh.
1. One: Boil It Slowly Up

**Battening Down the Hatches**

**Chapter One**

**Boil It Slowly Up **

It felt like a completely ordinary day in many aspects, Emma had got to admit that. The sun was shining down, colouring the sky with its streaks of light, there was not a cloud to be seen and the wind had almost completely disappeared. It was the perfect day for a long swim with Cleo and Rikki, and Emma wanted nothing but to jump into the water with her two best friends and race to Mako in such a hurry it seemed like a shark might be following them.

The only reason she was not in the water yet was just because she was supposed to meet Rikki and Cleo right here at the Juicenet café for a juice before heading off. Lewis was busy today so maybe Cleo would actually be possible to be around. After they 'fell back into love' the two of them had been gooey and nauseating – it was even worse than when they first got together. Emma thought that they were very cute, but Rikki always pretended to gag and rolled her eyes when they were too much in love.

Now Emma, didn't understand that. Rikki had Zane herself, but apparently all that stuff wasn't really their thing. They usually just argued about silly things and mostly it was very stupid, but they always made up, and Emma hated to admit it, but they were kind of good together and Zane wasn't nearly as horrible a person as he used to be. And if they didn't argue, they definitely always had their 'something is going on' vibe, that was certain. Emma herself had Ash now, which she really appreciated – after she came clear about what they really were, their relationship had been as good as she could wish for. Ash had taken it all so cool, gotten involved with full moons and protected them whenever water was near. It was kind of nice to have someone special for those things like Cleo and Rikki had.

Anyway, Ash was supposed to be teaching a class today and after that he was taking Rebel out, so he wouldn't interrupt her plans for a nice mermaid-day. She believed she had also seen Zane and Nate head off with their bikes towards the track, so he wouldn't be calling out for Rikki's attention.

Emma entered the Juicenet café, still very much excited about her plans for the day, and she couldn't wait to share it with her two best friends. Cleo was already sitting in a booth and she waved her over with an excited smile, "Emma!" she cheered.

Emma crossed the table and ordered a juice from Wilfred on the way. She took a seat opposite from Cleo and placed her hands on the table, "Hi Cleo, how's it going?" she questioned the brunette.

Cleo already had a juice and she sipped it for a few seconds before her hand reached for the straw and she started to stir her drink slowly, "I'm alright..." she said in her usual Cleo-kind-of-way, "It's just that Dad told me I couldn't go out today because I hadn't done the dishes."

Emma shrugged, "Why weren't the dishes done?" she asked, afraid to know where this was going. Sometimes Cleo's logic wasn't really the most sensible one, but there had been a problem with dishes and her before – it seemed to be an unstoppable reason for arguments between Cleo and her sister Kim.

Cleo made a face in her direction and said, as a matter of factly, "Kim."

Nothing more was needed to be said in the brunette's opinion, Emma could tell that, but for it to make any sense at all, she would need it explained just a wee bit more, "What did she do now?" she asked.

"She slept over at her best friend's place, and then who can do the dishes?" Cleo explained, staring at her juice as if it was the most important thing in the world for just a few seconds, before she looked up and locked her eyes with Emma's, "I can't do the dishes!" she continued to whine.

"Well if she wasn't home." Emma replied, just as Wilfred placed a strawberry juice in front of her. She gave him a quick smile, "Thanks," she said, before she continued to talk to Cleo, "she's still allowed to have her own life, you know. Of course she's a pain, I do know that." she added, when Cleo was about to object because she was defending Kim, but it still made more sense that Kim was able to spend some time with her friends, "....but," she paused and raised an eyebrow, "it's still your chores, you should appreciate the effort she puts in for you."

Cleo's mouth tightened slightly, "Do you have any idea – of how much money I give her each day for doing the dishes?"

Emma shrugged, "A lot, I guess."

Cleo didn't reply to that, she consumed half of her juice instead.

Emma took a few sips of her own too, before she said, "But what's the problem? Why didn't you just tell your dad that you'd do them later?"

Cleo sighed heavily and crossed her arms as she leaned back in the seat, "He doesn't like the mess all day."

"So how did you get out?" Emma wanted to know in a light voice, hoping that soon they could talk about something else. She glanced around the busy café. If just Rikki would show up.

"I just left!" Cleo whined and closed her eyes tightly together and Emma pictured what she was imagining in there – how her father would react when she came home tonight. It certainly wouldn't be pretty. Don Sertori had always been very strict with his two girls. "I don't wanna go home tonight, Emma." she finished when her eyes were open again.

Emma didn't really know what to say to that, so she decided to change the subject completely, "So what do you wanna do today?" she asked her long-time best friend. It was hard to believe that it had just been the two of them, as best friends, for so long before Rikki came. Things had certainly changed after the blonde, big-mouthed rebel showed up. But Emma wasn't complaining. Sure, she and Rikki had their differences (often, actually), but Rikki did bring a bit more sunshine into their lives, there was no running from that.

Cleo unlocked her arms from their cross, probably happy to be thinking about something other than her father and shrugged instead, "I don't know?"

"'Cuz I was thinking..." Emma quickly begun, pleased with the fact that Cleo didn't have any wishes for their agenda, "maybe we could go for a nice, long swim? It seems perfect outside, and I could really use a cool-down. It's unbelievably hot today." she rambled off. She knew she didn't have to pursue Cleo as much as she was doing, she probably wouldn't have to convince her at all, but sometimes when she started speaking her case, she just couldn't stop.

Cleo nodded and finished off the rest of her juice, "That sounds great. Do you reckon Rikki wants to join us?"

Emma felt her smile grow even wider – it seemed like it was a perfect day today, "Zane's doing boy-stuff with Nate, so I'm sure she'll be up for it. She loves our swims."

The idea of a day in the water, just all three of them, seemed very appealing to Cleo. She relaxed her shoulders a bit more and gave Emma a bigger smile, "So when will she be here?"

Emma shrugged, "I don't know, seems kind of weird she's not here yet."

Cleo turned around in the seat and glanced through the room, trying to locate Rikki between the many bodies that turned to juice for a momentarily cool-down from the boiling sun outside. Emma turned her head to the side too and searched through the throng of people with Cleo, but paused when she saw a white-haired, pale-skinned girl by the counter. She was talking to Wilfred, but something didn't quite add up-

"Oh! There she is!" Cleo exclaimed, and Emma followed her finger with her eyes to see who Cleo was pointing at, but realized that it was the 'Rikki' by the counter. Except that couldn't be Rikki. There was something about her that just wasn't _Rikki_.

Emma shook her head, "That's not Rikki, Cleo." she firmly said. It just couldn't be, there was something off about her.

"What are you talking about?" the brunette questioned again, with wide open brown eyes, "That's Rikki, Emma. She's got the same curly hair, the same posture, the same milky skin..." she trailed off and turned to look at the former swimmer.

Emma reached a finger out, and even if it was impolite to point at people, she made a small gesture towards her, "She's too tall, Cleo, taller than Rikki, and that's not even her, because she's wearing pink."

That was the thing most off about her. Never in her life would Rikki be caught wearing something like that. Not on an ordinary day like today – in the Juicenet café.

Cleo raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow, "So?" she stated.

"Rikki never wears pink!" Emma argued back and finished off her juice, pushing the glass into the centre of the table, up against Cleo's.

"Yeah she does!" Cleo argued back as she rested her hands on the table, "She has that dress that Zane got her! She wears that from time to time..."

Emma shook her head again and gave Cleo a sideways smile, "It's still not her, Cleo." she firmly said and just then, the woman turned around from the counter. She was wearing sunglasses, but as she pushed through a line, she also pushed them onto the top of her head, and Emma was stunned for a second, because her eyes were exactly like Rikki's – so was her smile. It was too much alike, it was almost scary. "She does look like her, though." Emma couldn't help but blurt out.

And so Cleo turned around again, and Emma could see her eyes widen, as they landed on this Rikki-clone. "Wow." Cleo exclaimed, probably a bit too loud, because the woman paused in her tracks and gave them a curious look.

"Can I help you?" she wanted to know. Her voice was light and very feminine. She sounded quite fancy. Emma didn't get a very good vibe from her, and she was often right about first impressions.

"I'm sorry." Cleo quickly mumbled and gave Emma a desperate look. Her eyes said everything; she needed help to get gracefully through this.

Emma quickly came to her rescue as she so often had done in the past, "You just looked an awful lot like one of our friends. We didn't mean to bother you."

The woman raised an eyebrow and gave them a once-over, "Alright." she said and put her sunglasses back onto her nose as she turned to walk out of there, "Enjoy your day." she mumbled, as she walked off.

Emma and Cleo turned to look at each other, both very confused about what had just happened. Emma could see in Cleo's eyes that she was freaking out on the inside – it had just been too weird. That woman had looked too much like Rikki. Sure, often enough one could find similarities between some people, but this had been very extreme.

Cleo's eyes were just turning normal when Rikki – and this time it was the real Rikki, Emma was certain of that; her hair was in two braids, she was wearing her usual skirt and her red t-shirt – sat down next to Cleo and gave them both a smile, "What's happening?" she questioned them both and reached for the menu on the table.

Cleo was about to open her mouth, but Emma firmly shook her head; there was no need telling Rikki about their encounter with this strange woman, because Rikki would either just laugh at them or freak out and stalk this woman into the next century. Cleo shut her mouth again and kept it there.

Rikki gave them both her something-is-up-and-I-wanna-know-what-it-is look, but when no one said anything, she stood up again, "I'm gonna get a juice." she told them, and as soon as she was out of earshot, Emma gave Cleo the eyes one more.

"Don't tell her about it!" she firmly said, "Nothing good is gonna come out of it."

Cleo nodded and offered Emma a smile instead, trying to act as normal as possible. The former swimmer looked around though, gave the room another look, but the strange woman was not there. There was just this weird feeling in her body, and Emma couldn't shake it off.

This meant trouble, she was sure of it.

-

The water in the moon pool was hotter than the three of them had ever experienced before, except when they got their powers and everything had boiled up. But it was still nice to be in the water, even if it was hot, because the sun didn't reach them there and their skin was cooling down after the sun outside.

Rikki was still slightly suspicious about what had occurred in the Juicenet café. Cleo and Emma had acted very strange. Usually, they weren't the ones who hid stuff, it was always her. They told her everything, and that was why it was so strange that she had a feeling today that there was something, they just weren't telling her. It wasn't really a nice feeling, but she didn't want to dwell on it for too long. Usually, she would poke them and push them until something came out, but she just wasn't sure this time. Something didn't quite feel right.

"How long do you think this unbelievable heatwave is gonna last?" Emma questioned them, as she flopped her tail gently, pushing water first left, then right.

Cleo, who had been resting her elbows near the side of the pool as they always did, turned around, so she could look at them both, "I don't know, it's so hot outside, all I want to do is pour water over my head, but if I do that, I think someone's gonna notice my tail!"

Rikki gave her a funny, sarcastic look, "Oh really? You think?" she teased her.

Cleo just smiled right back at her, "No I'm serious!" she said with a thoughtful look, "I've gotten used to this mermaid thing now, but sometimes it would have been much easier to just be an ordinary girl."

Rikki shook her head as she played with the water in front of her, "Pffth." she said, "Ordinary is boring. I like being different."

"You would have been different even if you weren't half fish." Emma said and therefore butted into their little conversation, "I don't think you've got anything to worry about."

Rikki offered the other blonde a huge smile, "I'll take that as a compliment, Emma, thank you." she chuckled and moved her tail slightly, sending a cascade of water splashing onto her friend. She laughed even harder when Emma reappeared from beneath the water with a bothered look across her face. "No, I'm serious," Rikki continued, so Emma wouldn't have any excuse to get back at her right away, "you sound like it's so horrible to have these amazing powers, but truth is – all three of us have these wonderful boys, and they don't seem to like us any less even if we have scales."

"That is true." Emma said and turned her head to Cleo, who was always the one to doubt herself and their secret.

Cleo reached her hand out and moved a finger softly up; a drop of water parted itself from the sea and moved into mid-air. The brunette smiled innocently at Emma before she flicked a finger in her direction, and the drop of water splashed right onto Emma's nose.

"Hey!" she whined and rubbed it off with the back of her hand, "What's with the torturing me today? What have I done?"

Cleo and Rikki locked eyes and giggled with each other; it was always fun to tease Emma, she got so mad, and together, the two of them would always beat her. Emma might be the fastest swimmer when they raced – Rikki still hadn't admitted aloud that she would be second in this, always – but when they fought with water, the two would always conquer.

"Anyway," Rikki said and leaned back slightly, resting her hands behind her head as she stared up, into the blue sky in top of the volcano, "speaking of the boys... Zane asked me to meet him later at the Juicenet café, he was talking about having a pool contest, you guys could come join and we'll play teams."

Cleo wrinkled her nose, "I don't play pool." she simply said.

"Ash and I will be there!" Emma was quick to agree, ignoring Cleo and her constant belittling of herself, "We'll beat you and Zane hands down."

Rikki turned over, floating slowly closer to Emma on her stomach, "In your dreams." she whispered, before she gave Cleo and sideways glance and burst out, "Race ya' back to the beach!" in a sneaky voice; she dived under water and was the first one out of the moon pool, speeding off to win the race.

-

Zane met Rikki just outside the track where they had agreed to start going out together again. He was wearing his helmet still, but he pulled it off and gave Rikki a short kiss, "Hello." he said, with the smile that Rikki couldn't quite resist. It was just too cute.

They locked their eyes for a few seconds, just staring at each other. Rikki couldn't hide her smile; she genuinely wasn't a very happy or positive person, she'd always search her hardest to find the negative sides to most things, but when she had moments like these with Zane, her lips had a mind of their own and moved upwards until it was impossible for them to go further – the smile reached all the way into her eyes, and she was sure that Zane could just see how much she loved him.

She whispered, "Hi."

Zane placed his arm around her shoulders and started to lead her away from the track and towards the trailer park, which was in the opposite direction of where his amazingly big house was. But even if he had everything at home – all the stuff they would need to have plenty of fun – he still preferred to go to her place. He said that there was much more love there, and the chance of running into his father was greatly weakened too. (But of course, what would his father be doing in a trailer park?).

"So what did you friends think about my idea?" Zane questioned as they crossed the grass and went around the back to her house. Her father would probably be home, perhaps starting up the grill for some supper. They could grab some and then head off to the Juicenet café.

Rikki smiled up at him, completely comfortable wrapped in his strong arms; she had never really thought of herself as girlfriend material. She liked to be alone too much, she liked to take long walks (though now it was rather long swims), she had never really handled getting close to someone. It was a wonder she had even let Emma and Cleo get so close, but that was probably because they had a secret to share, and it hadn't been optional. And then there was Lewis of course, but he and Cleo had always been a package deal. But Zane had never been a part of that. There had never been any reason for her to grow closer to him, but still – she did. And it was because she could relate to him so much. It had never been her intention to get a boyfriend whilst living here; they'd probably have to move away quickly anyway, but now that she had Zane, she didn't want to lose him for anything. Their relationship was exactly like she wanted it to be. He gave her space when she needed it, yet he still pushed her and poked her, which she needed a lot of the time too.

And like she had told Cleo and Emma when they first found out about her secret boyfriend – Zane got her.

He really _understood_ her.

"Emma was excited about it, said she and Ash would beat us." she made a face in his direction as his arm dropped from her shoulders, so she could climb the three steps onto the small makeshift terrace. There was no way that the two of them would beat them at pool. Zane was a winner and he always had been. He wasn't good at losing, just as Rikki wasn't either; she had to be right in every way possible.

Zane shook his head in his usual I'm-superior-kind-of-way and winked at her, "Let them try." he said.

The grill was on and Zane took the liberty of checking on the sausages and the corncobs as Rikki poker head head through the slide glass door to let her father know that they were there for supper. But she paused, when he wasn't sitting at his usual spot with his afternoon/cooking supper-beer, a spot where he could watch the grill from inside and go check on it every once in a while.

She gave Zane a look above her shoulder, but he seemed pretty occupied with the grill, so she stepped inside their humble trailer in curiosity. Her father was a man of habits; he liked to do the same things every day, she could always count on him, he was dependable. He woke up late, worked on his bike, some days he had to work, some days he didn't, then he worked some more on his bike (even if it ran smoothly now after Zane had looked at it), he would make supper and then he'd sit out front and watch the sea until he went to bed. There wasn't more to it, and therefore it was weird that he wasn't at his usual spot.

Rikki held her breath and sighed in relief when she heard her father talk to someone. He was probably on his cell phone. She smiled to herself and followed his voice to announce that they were there. But then she stopped again. He didn't sound very happy. He sounded quite angry.

"No! Don't you dare come here to us. She's doing so good now, she's made friends as I'm sure you already know." there was a pause and Rikki felt her brow tighten in worry as she leaned against the wall outside the bathroom, where he was currently in. She was sure that he was talking about her. Who else could it be? It was just the two of them. She bit her lip as he continued, "Yeah, she's got the fella too." he mumbled, pretty distraught, "Just don't do anything to mess her up, okay? I don't want to see her mope around, I've had enough of that."

Rikki swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat as she listened to her father, doing his best to take care of her, protect her from whatever it was that was threatening them. And it was true; she didn't want anything to change right now. As far as she was concerned, her life was as good as it could get. Thanks to her best friends and boyfriend, her father and her had enough money to stay put (whenever they were spent, they'd figure something else out; they always did), she had those wonderful friends, and that amazing boyfriend. And she was actually doing better in school after settling down so nicely around her. And it was the perfect place to be a mermaid because it almost never rained.

She didn't want to listen to this anymore, so she tiptoed away from the door and into the sunlight again, trying not to think too much about what she had just heard. She snug up behind Zane and placed both arms around him, "Cooking anything good?" she mumbled into his back and took in the scent that was all him.

He turned around, a knife in one hand and with a smile on his face, "It smells good, don't you think?" he said, and with a look around the terrace, he continued, "Where's Terry?"

She shrugged, didn't really want to talk about it, "Not at his usual spot, he's probably inside somewhere."

Zane seemed alright with that explanation, even if he could usually tell when something was wrong. He turned back around to continue working on the food and Rikki turned away from him too, still deep in thought about that phone conversation she had overheard. She just didn't feel good about it.

She looked up when her father stepped outside as well, stuffing his old Nokia cell phone into his shorts as he went, "Love!" he said and pulled Rikki in for a short kiss on the hair, "I didn't hear ya' coming." he smiled and Rikki did her best to give him the smile he loved so much; the smile that was identical to her mother's, as he so often reminded her of, "Hey Zane." he added as he stepped closer to the grill to see if he was able to control everything.

"Hey Terry." Zane added and handed him a fork, "I was just making sure that everything's cooking alright."

Terry gave Zane a pat on the back and Rikki smiled to herself, happy that her father also accepted her boyfriend; it wasn't everyone who was that lucky. Cleo's father had always been strict on her considering boys – well, when wasn't he strict on her, really?

"Love," her father begun and turned around with a smile on his old face, "you wanna grab us all something to drink?"

Rikki decided to forget the disturbing phone call for now and just enjoy the evening, first supper with her father and Zane, then spending the entire night at the Juicenet café with her best friends. "Sure Dad." she replied and turned to go inside, "Be right back."

-

Cleo thought that Rikki seemed awfully quiet this evening. She wasn't one to keep any opinions to herself, so the brunette found it rather odd that she hadn't yet gloated with her and Zane's outstanding pool abilities. She seemed alright from a distance; she played pool, supported Zane, drank juice and made sarcastic comments, but when Cleo looked closer at her friend, she thought that there was something wrong. She wasn't quite sarcastic enough, not really that ironic, she didn't lash out at Lewis or Cleo herself, she just wasn't herself completely, she wasn't all Rikki.

For a moment Cleo wondered if something was up with her and Zane, but they didn't have that vibe that was so characteristic for the two of them, so she completely pushed that idea aside. Emma didn't seem to think that something was wrong, otherwise she would have commented on it, but maybe she was too busy cheering on Ash to really take notice to anything else.

Cleo was still very concerned though, it seemed like something might be bothering Rikki, and she knew that Rikki – even if her methods often consisted of pushing and nagging and poking fingers – if it was her, would have asked her if something was up. She would have gotten it out of her, so they could talk about it. In her own kind of Rikki sort of way. But she did it, even if it wasn't exactly her cup of tea.

Cleo took a sip of her banana beat box and turned her head to the side, where Lewis was busy fingering with his cell phone, "Lewis...?" she softly begun, hoping that she wouldn't exactly interrupt him.

Lewis looked up from his phone though, placed it on the table, and didn't look bothered at all, "Yes Cleo?" he questioned right back, a huge smile on his face. Cleo loved the way their relationship was headed this second time around; it seemed like he knew not to pry and to give her a bit of leash at times, he wasn't nearly as clingy.

"Does Rikki seem..." she paused, as she searched for the right word, didn't exactly know how to phrase herself, "_odd_ to you?" she finally decided, but didn't quite like the way that word slipped across her tongue, "At all?"

Lewis glanced briefly at Rikki as he had that thoughtful look across his face, "Well yeah." he said, as if stating to obvious, "But Rikki's always odd, she has those days when she's really sarcastic and then at other days she talks to me like a completely normal person – seems a bit odd to me." he nodded as he finished off his answer.

Cleo sighed and decided not to ask him further. Lewis might be a smart person, but when it came to certain things, he knew squat – and Rikki was one of those things; he just didn't get her. Sure, they were friends, but they annoyed the hell out of each other, and it was only because of Cleo herself that they even hung out together. The only thing the two of them had in common was their taste in music – and their love for Cleo, of course. She smiled at the thought, "Never mind, Lewis." she said and turned her head to look at her friends again; just then Zane gave Rikki a humongous hug and she kissed his cheek lightly.

"That's it for now." he announced and flexed his muscles slightly, "I can't be bothered to compete with you anymore, Ash, I'm sorry, but that's just not very good."

Ash sneered, "Oh come one, you know I'm about to gain in on you, that's why you're quitting now, just admit it!"

Rikki and Emma gave each other a look, before the each grabbed their boyfriend by the hand and dragged him back to their table. They all scooted together to make room for everyone, and Cleo quickly opened her mouth to speak about something else, so they wouldn't continue their game with a discussion instead.

"So how about that maths quiz we had yesterday?" she questioned them all, knowing just how lame a subject it was to talk about school on a Saturday evening, but it was the best she could come up with.

"Talk about school?" Rikki questioned with an arched eyebrow and a slight sarcastic voice, "Tonight? Really? Cleo, really?"

Cleo rolled her eyes, "I was just trying to make conversation!" she argued back, and Rikki leaned slightly over, nudging her head against Cleo's shoulder to let her know that she was only kidding and that it was all out of love.

"Does anyone want more juice?" Emma questioned then, seeing that there were a bunch of empty glasses sitting in the middle of their table.

Ash gave it a look too and nodded to his girlfriend, "Yeah, I'd love something – mhm, with chocolate?"

"I need chocolate too!" Rikki butted in, completely lighting up with the thought of chocolate; she was unchangeable. That girl could eat anything, and she'd still be thin as a stick. It was seriously freaky at times, the girl never stopped eating.

"Surprise, surprise there." Lewis commented too, taking notice to it just like Cleo had done, "Rikki wants chocolate."

"Well excuse me," the blonde rebel shot back, her blue eyes firing up, "I eat chocolate when I need to think clearly."

Zane pulled her in for a kiss on the cheek, "And what exactly do you need to think about?" he asked her with a cheesy grin.

Rikki looked up at him, and Cleo could only smile because when it was Rikki and Zane, anything was possible, they could never know how the two would react to each other, but it seemed like, this time, Rikki would be all smiles, "Hey, I've got stuff on my mind from time to time." she softly said and turned to them all with a fancy look.

Emma couldn't help but laugh, "Just like you can actually act nicely from time to time."

"Orh, you know what, you guys are funny, you are hysterical." Rikki fired back and stood up from her seat; she was sitting furthest away from the wall, so it was easiest for her to get out. She reached for Lewis' wallet on the table and grabbed it before he managed to snatch it first, "I'll get us some juice, Lewis's treat." she said, her eyes bubbling with playfulness.

Lewis made a face "Sure, my treat." he whispered, as Rikki took off, zigzagging through a bunch of people.

"Man," Ash said and gave Zane a pat on the back, "I don't know how you two put up with each other, you're both damn stubborn and pushy and it's like you've got fire in your eyes."

Zane hit Ash with a closed fist on his shoulder, "Why do you think Rikki is the one with the most dangerous power."

"She has the shortest temper of everyone I know." Emma added in with a smile in Cleo's direction, and Cleo nodded in agreement. Rikki really was short-tempered, and of course that could be very annoying, it had also helped them a lot of times. Especially when Charlotte was around. Rikki wanted things done her own way, and she certainly did them like that. It was just dangerous when she got really angry, because then she'd close her fist and suddenly everything would boil up around her.

Cleo leaned in closer to Lewis and sighed out heavily. She was kind of tired and she hadn't been home since this morning when she was in a huge argument with her father. She had no idea how she was ever going to get past doing those dishes. She'd probably have to bring Lewis with her to do them for her, or else she'd have to invest in some reeeeally long gloves.

Cleo sort of blocked the others out for a few seconds and closed her eyes; listened to how they talked and played with each other. She couldn't believe how lucky she was to know all these wonderful people. Of course she still disliked Zane a lot for everything he had done to her (and everyone else for that matter) in the past, but for some reason he really made Rikki happy and that was all she needed to know to put up with him.

"Can we help you?"

Cleo zonked out of her thoughts and tuned back in on her friends when Zane's sneer caught her attention. She sat up straight and turned her head to the side, totally struck with seeing that blonde woman from earlier standing there again, sunglasses on the top of her head.

"I thought I recognized the two of you earlier." she explained with first a look at Emma and then a look at Cleo herself, "You're Emma and Cleo, right?"

Emma swallowed and leaned slightly forward, while Cleo felt herself scoot closer to Lewis, "Yes." the blonde firmly replied, a suspicious look written across her face.

The other woman placed a gentle hand on Zane's shoulder, which he didn't seem to appreciate, judging by the look on his face, "...and you're Zane Bennett." she continued with a smile to him.

"Excuse me?" Ash butted in, and Cleo could tell that he was very uncomfortable with the entire situation, "But who are _you_?"

The woman chuckled lowly, "Sorry, I didn't introduce myself, how rude of me." she said, and Cleo squeezed her eyebrows together, slightly worried, slightly curious as to who this woman was, and how she knew about them. All their eyes were on her, her blonde hair, her smile, her blue eyes, and it seemed like everyone was thinking the exact same thing – how much she looked like Rikki, "I'm Katherine Chadwick," she said, and Cleo felt her eyes go wide, "Rikki's-"

"...Mum?"

They all turned their heads to the side at once and saw Rikki stand there, completely in shock.

* * *

_Hello everyone, thanks for tuning in. I hope you enjoyed this first chapter, because I really enjoyed writing it. This is not really a story with a certain couple in mind, it's just all about Rikki – I thought I wanted to play a little more with her, dig a bit into her background, which is fun, because I get to make it up! :) This is following the storyline of the show, but it's supposed to be before Emma leaves as you've probably all guessed. _

_There's going to be two more chapters, so please tell me what you think, I'd love to hear from you. _

_And the title? Oh yeah. That's a sailing expression. It's what sailors do to prepare their ships for any storms at sea. Battens are thin pieces of wood and hatches are the openings in the deck. Before a storm, sailors cover the hatches with waterproof material, then they nail on battens to hold the hatch-coverings firmly in place. This will keep rain and waves out of the ship. Now the expression is used differently – people use it so it means to prepare for any kind of trouble, which is why I thought it was so perfect for this story; there's certainly trouble on the way. Now, of course I'm no expert on sailing, so all this, I didn't know, but I do like to research before writing a story, so Google is my lovely friend ;b I hope everything was correct. _

_Anyway, thanks for reading again, and sorry about my rant, I tend to ramble a lot. _

**_Disclaimer; _**_I don't own H2O: Just Add Water. _


	2. Two: Walk on Thin Ice

**Battening Down the Hatches **

**Chapter Two**

**Walk on Thin Ice**

"Hello Rikki, dear."

Rikki started at her mother in complete disbelief. It could not be reality that her mother was standing right in front of her, it could not, simply, be true. She hadn't seen the woman for so many years and suddenly, there she was, standing right in front of her without a heads-up.

It wasn't like she didn't want to see her mother or anything. Her mother was so very important to her, and they'd kept in contact since her parents split up. She regularly sent pictures and updates from her life, especially because she wanted her mom to know how good they had it now. And her mother often wrote back, they even spoke on the phone about a month ago. But it was still surreal seeing her right there, in front of her very best friends.

Rikki could just about see how her friends were reacting to this new revelation. She'd never once talked about her mother or shown them a picture of her. She didn't think it was necessary. She'd had troubles enough letting them meet her father, it would be too much to go all out. But they all looked pretty surprised to find out who they were talking to (not that Rikki had any idea as to why they'd be talking to her in the first place). Rikki didn't blame them.

She absent-mindedly handed Lewis back his wallet and crossed her arms across her chest, "What are you doing here, Mum?" she heard herself ask, but it didn't exactly feel like she was the one talking; it was like she was looking down from above, watching this weird, crazy scenery, and she couldn't quite explain it, but there was something off about it, there was tension.

Katherine gave her a stiff smile, "Well, I came to see you, sweetheart." she said, as a matter of fact.

Rikki breathed out heavily, scanned the faces of her friends once more, but then looked back at her mother, "Well..." she didn't exactly know what to say. It was alright that her mother was there, it was kind of nice to see her, but it would have been nicer if she had known about it so she could have prepared in some ways, because meeting like this was just very irritating, "Hi then." she finished with a sort-of wave and let her arms fall to her sides.

Katherine looked at her for a few seconds before she turned around slightly and glanced once more towards the five people behind her. She then reached out and corrected a straw of Rikki's wild curly hair and placed it behind her ear, "This is probably not a very good time, but I do need to talk to you, Rikki darling." she said and smiled at her, and Rikki smiled back, even if she had a weird feeling about this, "I will call you and perhaps we can get together later?"

Rikki didn't know what to respond to that, so she gave a short nod and her mother turned to leave again, without sparing another glance at Rikki's friends. Rikki felt though, that there was one more thing she should ask, knowing how important it was. She said it, before she could even think of phrasing it differently, "Does Dad know you're here?" Her voice came out harsh and quick, but she just had to know, knowing that her parents hadn't gotten along since the divorce and her father would rather she never talked to her mother at all.

Katherine stopped abruptly, and for a second Rikki had a feeling that the answer to her question would be, without a doubt, no, but then her mother spoke, softly, "Yes, Terry is very aware that I'm here, Rikki. Spoke to him on the phone earlier myself."

Rikki didn't reply to any of that, so her mother started walking again, and soon was out of sight. Rikki swallowed loudly, now knowing why her father had been so upset earlier when she and Zane got there to eat supper. She had told him that she was in town. For what, Rikki had no idea. In the past it had always been enough for her to have a relationship with her daughter only through emails, letters and phone calls. She never seemed to have wanted more and Rikki had made her peace with that from the minute it turned out that way, and that was why it worried her that suddenly, there her mother was, saying that they needed to _talk_.

"That was intense!" Rikki heard Emma say, and the blonde turned around to fully face her best friends, "Rikki, are you okay?" Emma continued in a concerned voice.

Rikki nodded, not quite sure whether or not she really was okay. She wasn't quite ready to deal with her friends, not quite there at the Juicenet café, because her head still hadn't wrapped around the fact that her mother was there and that what had just happened, had actually happened and wasn't some part of a cruel nightmare of some sort.

She felt Zane's arm wrap around her waist as he pulled her closer. She dropped to his side and he hugged her tightly, "Could you maybe respond to us, Rikki?" he suggested her; his voice was kinder than usual, even with her, not a trace of his obnoxious ways was left.

Rikki felt much better with his arm around her, and his firm chest as her support and she told herself to talk to the people who were actually concerned about her well-being. She looked up then, putting a small smile on, just for show, "That was Mum." she simply said, not sure what to say or how to phrase herself – they probably had figured out who that woman was (unless they were really dense, but Rikki was pretty sure that that wasn't the case with any of her friends) from their conversation.

Cleo raised an eyebrow and turned to her, "Yeah, but what is she doing here? I didn't even know you had a mother!"

Rikki bit her lip, falling into her own thoughts again, contemplating exactly that. What _was _she doing here? What did her mother want? It was a little too weird for her liking.

"Of course she has a mother, Cleo." Emma said in that certain-sort-of-Emma-way as she glanced briefly at the brunette, before looking at Rikki again, "Everyone does, but that does not explain the tension."

Lewis gave Rikki a curious look as well, "You haven't seen your mother in a while, have you Rikki?"

Rikki shook her head, still wondering how to explain everything to them. It was pretty easy; she'd talked to Zane about this before, told him how her parents had divorced because of money, how hard it had been on her, but yet still – it was different with her mother, she had never once mentioned her before.

Just then Wilfred placed a tray on their table, six juices on it, and Ash thanked him kindly, before all their attention was on Rikki again.

"Rikki?" Cleo questioned once more. Now she was sounding very worried, and Rikki knew she had to say something soon, otherwise her friends would go crazy.

"Yeah..." Rikki softly responded, and she could hear a sigh of relief from some of her friends – she wasn't quite sure who, though – and it made her smile, because, after all, they were just worried about her. "Uhm," she swallowed, finding this harder than it probably should be; but she knew why, she never let people get too close, and talking to them about her mother was definitely closer than she was prepared for at the moment. She really, really wasn't ready for this; she wasn't quite sure if she ever would be, but she needed to think clearly, she – she needed a.... swim. "I've gotta go." she told them, and before anyone could respond to that, she had pushed herself out of Zane's loose embrace and left the Juicenet café in a hurry, aiming for the dark water, just right outside.

–

"I don't like this." Cleo stated as they stared through the dark sky, their eyes not reaching Mako at all. The sea was dark too, and who knew what kind of creatures that would be hiding in there? Sharks usually liked the dark, didn't they? Were they not awake at night? After her own shark-experience where Lewis had managed to safe her, Cleo did not like the thought of Rikki swimming around alone when she was upset like she was right now.

Zane gave them all a look; Cleo could tell that he was worried too, but he also understood Rikki better than anyone else, and he was trying to be cool about everything, "Relax, will you?" he said to her, in his usual obnoxious tone, not bothering to be nice to her when Rikki wasn't there. "Rikki's a big girl, she probably just needs time to think things through."

Ash, who had his arm around Emma, shook his head, "I don't like it either, man, she shouldn't be alone right now. She should talk to someone."

They were sure that she had gone swimming, because they had heard a splash as they had scrambled to follow her. No one else had been out there, so they were good at that point, but Cleo still thought that even if Rikki usually went on these swims to be alone, she shouldn't _be alone_ right now. She needed to talk this (whatever this was) out with someone, and Cleo had a feeling that perhaps Rikki needed she and Emma more than she needed anyone else. They were best friends after all, they supported each other, told each other everything, as Emma so often had stated.

"I know Rikki, alright?" Zane said, letting them all know that he disapproved of the fact that they were even discussing this, "Look, the last time she took off like that, she really just needed time to think. She'll be at the moon pool, no harm done."

Emma gave Zane a sceptical glare, "The last time she took off like this you came to us so we could follow her." she informed him, and Cleo remembered that too; Rikki had been annoyed that they came to see her at Mako, but it had been the right thing to do, even if she was upset. If they went out there now, perhaps she'd tell them what this was all about.

Lewis nodded in agreement and pushed Cleo slightly forward, "Which is what you should do now – just to make sure. She's our friend."

Zane shot Lewis a look, but he didn't say anything, so Cleo gave Emma a questionable look, which the blonde nodded to, agreeing. They should go look for her, just to make sure that she was alright. The two girls gave the three guys reassuring smiles, before they sprinted forward and jumped into the water, heads first.

At first, Cleo felt disorientated in the dark water which seemed to be all around her; she couldn't even see Emma. She splashed and moved her arms and legs in a momentarily state of fear, but when she felt the familiar feeling in her body, the feeling she had felt so many times before, she relaxed and let her tale grow out. She blinked, once, twice, and suddenly everything was much more clear around her. Emma gave her a smile beside her and pointed upwards. Cleo nodded, and the two mermaids moved their tales in unison, until they broke the surface, looking up at the three boys on shore.

"When we find her, we'll probably be a while." Emma said, implying that Rikki was very stubborn, which all of them knew, so no one questioned her statement.

Lewis held up his cell phone in saying gesture, "Call me when you get back. We'll hang here for a while, but eventually we will have to go home if you haven't showed yet."

Cleo smiled warmly at him, "Sure. We'll talk to you later, guys."

Without another word, the two of them turned away from the three boys, ducked their heads into the cold water, and with a splash of their tales, they were both off.

Cleo was nowhere near afraid anymore. She could see everything clearly as they gracefully moved through the water with enormous speed. She could only see flashes of fish as she pushed herself to stay at Emma's speed, knowing that everything was better as long as Emma was right next to her; she wouldn't be this calm if she was swimming now alone.

But it felt good to know that they were doing something for Rikki. Had they stayed back to drink juice she would have felt uneasy. She was not sure what would happen once they got to Mako, but Emma always figured something out, so Cleo was certain that she would again. The former swimmer would lead, and eventually Rikki would talk, because that was how it always was with them. Sure, sometimes they'd have to let Rikki be for a while longer, because neither Cleo herself nor Emma believed that pushing someone was the way to get them to speak, but this time they might have to do just that. They needed to know what this was about, because it was just a little bit weird.

As they got nearer to Mako Island, Cleo focused on the water once more, just to make sure that no shark was trying to attack her. She saw plenty as they propelled through the water, but none of them dared to get near the two speeding mermaids and Cleo felt better, because that meant Rikki would have gotten there safely as well. When she was upset, she speeded through the water as well.

The two slowed down and dived deeper into the dark water, swimming towards the underwater entrance to the moon pool, knowing exactly where it was after about a year and a half of doing this. They swum slower, Cleo pushed her tail up and down while she felt the anticipation in her stomach; hoping that their assumptions were correct and that Rikki, indeed, would be at the moon pool.

The water was lit up due to the shiny stars that reached them through the top of the volcano, so it was slightly clearer than the water had actually been out at sea, and Cleo could tell that Rikki was there; she could see her tail, flopping helplessly from side to side, Rikki's back against the entrance, as she rested against the side of the pool, holding herself up by her elbows.

Emma grabbed Cleo's hand to get her attention, so Cleo turned her head to the side. Emma smiled at her, clearly relieved that they had not raced out here for nothing, and she pointed upwards again, indicating that they would have to face a furious Rikki at some point.

They pushed themselves upwards and broke through the surface, immediately taking a place on each a side of their friend, who did not once look up from what she was doing; tracing a finger through the sand, absent-mindedly.

"We had a feeling you'd be here." Emma said, as she broke the silence, knowing that they'd have to talk eventually.

Rikki did not look up from her 'art', "And I had a feeling you'd follow me." she replied. Cleo couldn't tell whether or not she was angry or if she didn't care at all, because most of all – she just seemed quite sad.

She flopped to the side, resting only on one arm, "We were worried about you." Cleo softly spoke up, brushing a piece of brown hair out of her face. She didn't like the frown on Rikki's face, it was so different from anything they usually saw perked across the milky skin.

Rikki didn't reply to that.

Emma and Cleo shared a look above her back, before Emma spoke up again, "Do you mind telling us what just happened back then, just now?" she asked their friend, curiosity perked across the tip of her tongue, "It seemed rather... odd."

Rikki's face was stern, "I don't wanna talk about it." she replied. She seemed deeply in thought, thinking to herself about everything, and Cleo knew that whatever it was, must have effected her more than they'd thought, because she wasn't just upset about something silly, like after an argument between her and Emma, this was really serious, she seemed _very_ distracted.

"Well, you're just gonna have to!" Emma said, voice firm. Usually she wouldn't push Rikki like this, she'd wait until Rikki was ready to tell it herself, but this was like when they found out that Rikki was dating Zane, the first time, where they'd been sure he was only out to expose them. Emma had been firm about her opinion back then, telling Rikki that it was either him or them, and she was just as firm now.

This, Emma telling her what to do, really seemed to tick Rikki off more than usual. She turned and shot Emma a hurtful glare, "You don't tell me what to do!" she said, voice just as firm as Emma had just been.

Cleo didn't know what to say; she pulled back slightly, away from the fight between her two best friends. She leaned herself against another side of the moon pool, just where Rikki had playfully splashed water from just a few hours earlier, and watched the interaction between her friends with open mouth.

Emma moved slightly back too, only so she was out of touching-distance in case Rikki got really angry, "We're worried about you, Rikki." she tried to continue in a softer voice, though it was still very clear what she thought of everything, "That was obviously something enough to get you this upset, and your-" she paused briefly because the word was weird regarding Rikki, "-mom... well, she seemed to know about us. And truthfully, we just wanna know the story. _So_ – spill."

Rikki glanced briefly at Cleo through her wet lashes, she gave her a questionable look, probably wanting to know whether or not Cleo felt the same about this as Emma did.

Cleo gave her friend a short nod, "We just wanna help you, Rikki." she said, didn't demand anything, simply just stated the truth.

Rikki seemed to think about it for a few seconds, and Cleo held her breath in anticipation, only hoping for the best. Emma looked hopeful as well, a smug smile playing across her face. Rikki finally breathed softly out, having reached a decision. "Alright," their friend – the rebel – said, "I'll tell you the story, but you have to promise just to listen and not judge me," she shook her head as she glanced at them both again, "because I've lived very differently than you two have."

Cleo could tell that it took a lot of her to tell them this. She hadn't seen Rikki like this before; this unsure, this uncertain about things. She seemed almost a bit ashamed and it was frustrating, because Cleo had always viewed her as someone who'd be able to go through anything, and it would do no matter.

"We would never judge you, Rikki." Emma assured her quickly, and Cleo knew that it was the truth – no matter what (well, _almost_ no matter what) Rikki had done in the past, they wouldn't judge her. They knew that everything hadn't always been easy for her, and so they were going to listen, hear what Rikki had to say.

The girl with the milky skin turned slightly, and the starlight hit her skin and gracefully caressed her every feature, "My parents split up because they were always fighting, fighting over money, they were always the problem." she started telling; she seemed off somewhere in her own world, her voice didn't focus particularly on anything, as she gazed her and there, not meeting either one of their eyes, "We never had that much money, and my mother hated it. Dad thought that what we had was pretty good, and I was a happy child. When I think back, I don't see my childhood as something horrible. I thought it was wonderful; we always moved, got to new places, met new people. I'd always have plenty of new friends in no time, I was a lot more like that when I was younger."

Cleo bit her lip and tried to hide her smile; Rikki definitely wasn't a people-person now, but it was nice to know that she once had been.

Rikki continued without noticing anything, "Dad would do his best to make Mum happy. He'd work _so_ hard, and she'd spend all his money on useless things. She always cared about all the materialistic things, she cared about appearances – I guess I'm sort of like her in that way, even if I would never really admit it." she paused and finally Cleo felt like she was really there, "You know... like I didn't want you to meet my father or see my place. It scares me that I'm like her in that way, because my father hated that about her, at the very end, he couldn't stand it."

Emma was about to say something, but Cleo shot her a glare, and the former swimmer kept quiet and let Rikki continue,

"So they got divorced which ripped us for everything we really owned. It was nasty; Mum wanted whatever that was left after paying for everything, and Dad was happy as long as he just got me. That was his only request." she smiled briefly at this, probably very happy that her father had gotten his wish, "So when she was out of our lives, we took off, trying to settle down somewhere, my father had to find a job, something that could pay the bills, and I had to enrol in a new school, it was very important to Dad that I never missed out on anything."

There was a brief silence in her story, and Cleo could see that Rikki was loosening up a little, though she still seemed sombre, and not like her usual self.

"The years went by," Rikki continued in a low voice as she moved slightly in the water, her fingers playing against the rocky side of the moon pool, "and so did Dad and I. We never did settle down properly, there was never enough time for me to make new friends before we'd pack up and leave again – we'd always end up skipping town. That's why I stopped trying to make friends, I'd just be me and that'd be enough because I knew we'd never be anywhere for a very long time." she pulled in a shaky breath, "I never told you this before, but... My dad and I – we would run from a lot of things. There'd be bills left unpaid, things left behind, I don't know how we've managed to get away all these times, we _always _managed to run.

"I always kept in touch with my mother." Rikki said then, and Cleo could feel that the story was coming to an end soon, "We'd email each other whenever I could get near a computer in school. We'd call each other up whenever Dad and I had time on our cell phone. Mostly we'd write letters though, I'd sent her pictures if something special came along on the way. After we settled here, it's been quite easy to stay in touch with her. It's pretty cheap living in the trailer park, so we've got more money for other things. I've been sending her pictures and telling her about you guys. And Zane, of course."

Cleo smiled warmly at her friend as their eyes locked. She had never known how important they really were to Rikki. She didn't know that Rikki felt so close to them. But she could see now that they were. Because she didn't usually have a lot of friends, and that she'd tell her mother about them was just proof that this was something big for her.

"How was your mother, then?" Emma dared to ask.

Rikki turned to her, her blue eyes saddened by her past and the fact that she'd just shared it with them, "She was always good. She found herself a boyfriend, he's rich and she's been living off him ever since. Not giving me anything, mind you, but whatever."

Cleo couldn't help but chuckle lowly. Rikki seemed to be getting back to her old self, even if this had been hard on her. It was nice that she'd done it though, because it answered a lot of her questions. It was nice to know how Katherine had recognized Cleo herself and Emma earlier; because of the pictures Rikki had sent her of the three of them; and it was nice to know these things about Rikki's past, though it stunned her a bit to hear her use the term 'skip town' – it sounded like they were criminals, running away or something. But Cleo decided not to think further about that, because it'd just worry her.

The brunette moved closer to Rikki through the water, placing a supporting arm around her friend, "Thanks for sharing, Rikki." she felt the need to say, just to let her know how much they appreciated that she did this for them.

Emma had another question to add though, "So what's she doing here now?"

Rikki shrugged, "I have _no_ idea." she said, slightly shaking her head, "I guess that's what she wants to talk to me about at some point. I just wish she hadn't come."

The other two girls didn't know what to reply to that since they had no way of knowing what it was like to be in Rikki's shoes, but at least they were there for her, showed her that they supported her.

Rikki glanced upwards for a second, just shortly, before she said, "Well, we better get back, I've got a few things to sort out."

"I'm getting cold anyway." Cleo agreed and pushed herself away from the side of the moon pool, so they could all dive into the water again.

Rikki shot them both a sneaky smile, "And I'm getting pruny!" she announced, before she dived under, and was the first one out of there.

–

Rikki felt ruefully out of place as she sat there in the company of her mother, her father and Zane, dressed in her only formal dress (thanks to Zane she actually owned one), high heels and wearing more make-up than she'd ever been before. Her hair was pulled back in a buckle, so different from her usual braids or the bun she tended to make in the back of her head.

Her mother had asked them all out for dinner at some fancy place in town, a place where Zane had probably dined plenty of times, but Rikki had only walked by, not sparing it a glance. She knew that this was not to please them or make them happy, that her mother had done this, it was only because she wanted something; she showed off in front of her father, letting him know how much better she had it than him.

Rikki could it see it in her face, but she was used to it. Her mother was that kind of person, and there was nothing she could do to change that. And it didn't matter how much her mother tried to show off or pursue them with her money, because it'd never bite on them. Rikki wasn't demanding, she didn't care if she was rich like her mother was – all she wanted was to make a decent amount of money, at least so she'd be able to give her children (because she saw herself with children in the future, even if she wasn't that fond of them right now) something more, more than she had had with her father.

Not that she was whinging, but she did want her children to live in an ordinary household.

She could feel Zane's presence next to her, their hands locked beneath the fancy, white tablecloth, and she was securer with him right next to her; no matter what her mother threw at her this evening, she'd be sure to get through it. Also because, now, she felt like she had a reason to actually care, there was someone important waiting for her, no matter what happened.

"So Rikki darling," Katherine begun as their dinner was served. Her smile was dazzling, but Rikki tried her best to ignore it and glanced to her food instead, silently wondering what it was that she had just been served. She glanced to the side and saw that Zane did not question it, so he probably knew what it was. "I asked you here for a reason." her mother finished.

Rikki glanced up again and licked her lips quickly, "Sure you did." she simply said, not sure if she wanted to hear this, "What for then?" she questioned win a whatever-voice and reached for her glass of sparkling water, knowing how careful she had to be when she took a sip of it.

Katherine's smile could possibly not have been bigger, she seemed very pleased that her daughter would ask that question. She glanced around their small table with her head held high, "I'm getting married next month."

And before Rikki could control herself, she spat out every content of her mouth, water cascading onto the table in front of her. Her eyes were wide in surprise, completely in struck with what she had just been informed of. She could feel drops of water prickling down her skin on her chin as she didn't move, and she was about to reach up and dry them off with her bare hands, but Zane beat her to it.

"Here you go." he quickly said, his voiced hurried and nervous as he wiped her chin off with a napkin as if she was some little child. Only seconds after his hand had retired to lie beside his plate, did Rikki realize what he'd just saved her from. She glanced thankfully at him with a small smile, before she turned back to stare at her mother with open mouth.

"What-?" she paused, confused beyond beliefs. Her mother had lived happily with her boyfriend (she was not sure what his name was) for so many years now – why on earth would she feel the need to get married?

Katherine did not seem phased at all. She offered Rikki another smile, "We're getting married. We thought why not, it's silly to not make it completely official."

Rikki stared at her with wide eyes, completely aware of the fact that her father was holding back a laugh across from her, and that Zane was unusually quiet. She, herself, did not know what to say either. What did her mother expect her to say? There were no words for how she was feeling at the moment.

Terry was greatly amused, "He's marrying you?" he said to her, not a hint of tease in his voice; he seemed serious, serious enough to make fun or her, simply because he found the situation extremely hilarious, "That's some brave man!"

Katherine gave him a dead-glare and Zane snickered in his seat, "Hush would you, Terry? Just stay out of this, I don't even know why I invited you along." she turned back to look a Rikki, then completely at ease, "Rikki dear, perhaps it should just have been you and I, mhm?"

Rikki glanced softly at Zane; she did not want to say this aloud, but she felt better having him with her. Her mother knew of their relationship, but she didn't know just how important Zane had become to her lately. Their relationship had reached new heights since they last exchanged happenings.

The blonde mermaid simply just shrugged, not aware of any polite sayings that would fit the moment.

"I was thinking," Katherine continued again. If she was annoyed that no one answered her and everyone seemed to be greatly amused, she did not let it show, "that since we're getting married and we're going to live in this perfect house with this perfect garden with perfect trees and flowers and a perfectly decorated kitchen and living room, I'd like to tell you in person, it'd make it just the more perfect."

Rikki grimaced, "That sounds..." a slight pause, "...perfect."

Again, Zane held back a laugh, and Rikki bit her own lip, because this was just extremely stupid.

Katherine gave him a look of disapproval, but did not comment on it, "Well, it's not completely perfect Rikki," she said then, her voice growing soft as her eyes locked with Rikki's in a firm hold, refusing to let go, "you're not a part of it."

Rikki raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Huh?"

Katherine reached a hand across the table and grabbed Rikki's free one in a tight grip, "We want you to come live with us." she said, and Rikki felt herself shallow as she looked into the eyes she saw every day in the mirror, those blue, familiar eyes, "We want you to be a part of it. You'll get everything you need with us, Rikki, you'll never have to ask for anything. We'll give you much more than he'll be able to afford in a lifetime." she finished with a sneer in Terry's direction, totally disregarding everyone else's feelings.

Even Rikki's.

Had she known her daughter better, she would have known that saying things like that about Terry did not go down well with her.

Rikki didn't know what to say though, she never tended to be a loss for words, but it did happen occasionally. Katherine was still clinging on tightly to her hand, and expectant look painted across her gorgeous, yet slightly ageing face, "So what do you say?" she breathlessly questioned.

Rikki felt Zane squeeze her hand; whether it was to support her, or out of worry that she might have to go, Rikki didn't know, but she was glad that he was there (once more), and as she glanced up at her mother, she couldn't help but swallow and quickly imagine what it'd be like to be with her, how her life would be, a part of something so 'perfect', it did not look Rikki-proof – she did cause an essential amount of trouble.

"Honey?" Terry questioned too, his voice edgy with worry. He didn't want to loose her, Rikki knew that; she was everything he had, and he'd give up his welfare just to make sure that she was happy.

Rikki glared back at her mother, certain to get the message through, "I don't wanna be a part of any of that, Mum," she said, shaking her head while she heard Zane sight in relief next to her, "because I... I can't be a part of something like that, and I've got – I've got so much to stay here for."

She glanced at her father first, then at Zane, but those two did not nearly explain what she had to live for here. There were Emma and Cleo; the amazing friendship and unbreakable bond she shared with them, and there was wonderfully scientific Lewis, demanding toenail clippings and hair samples, there was Ash, always so cheery, yet very annoying, and there were juices, actually enjoying school when she did have to go, there were sunshine and secrets, and amazing swims to Mako at every hour of the day (or night). She could not leave any of this behind for some life in fancy and perfection. She wasn't that kind of a girl.

Rikki Chadwick could not be bought.

Katherine's grip on her hand loosened slightly as she sat back in her chair and realization hit her face, "You can't be serious?" she said, glancing at the two men in her presence, "Rikki darling, did you not hear what I just offered? We'll give you everything you need, you just say the word and it'll be there."

Her voice was hurried as she strained to convince, but Rikki did not bite. She shook her head yet another time, "No thank you." she firmly said and pushed her chair back, pulling Zane with her, "I'd rather be without any of that, but be here with the people who really care for me." she breathlessly continued, "If you really want a child so much Mum, you can always adopt one. I don't want to be a part of your picture perfect family."

And with those words, she felt Zane's arm wrap around her shoulder as he lead her out of the restaurant, leaving Terry to follow right in suite, Katherine stuck behind with her rage. Rikki felt confident that it'd work out now, that that was probably the last she'd ever hear from her mother, that life would go back to normal, that all trouble was behind her, quickly to be forgotten, but she didn't know her mother...

Because Katherine Chadwick soon to be Madsen did not take rejection well.

This wasn't over. At least not according to _her_.

* * *

_Thank you so much for tuning back in. I'm so happy with the reviews I got from you guys, wanting me to go on, I'm really happy you enjoyed the first chapter! Here was the second one, I hope you enjoyed that as well. The last one will be up as soon as possible, hopefully within a week or two :) _

_Please drop off another comment, I'd like to know what you think of the further progressions in this chapter? _

_**Disclaimer; **I do now own H2O: Just Add Water, however, Katherine Chadwick (soon to be Madsen, lol :P) was my own creation. I simply tried to write her out as I imagine Rikki's mother would be like. _


	3. Three: Moving the Waters

**Battening Down the Hatches **

**Chapter Three **

**Moving the Waters**

Emma had never really thought much about Rikki's past in any way, but as she tried to eat breakfast that morning, all that kept streaming through her mind was thoughts about exactly that. She had been really concerned about Rikki yesterday, but when she heard the story behind everything while flopping her tale in the moon pool, she had become less concerned about her past, and more concerned about her future.

Though, in this case, those two were certainly connected.

Weren't they always, though? One has to know one's past to be able to live in the present and get into the future.

It was the same thing with Rikki, really. So she hadn't had the most ideal childhood, not like Emma herself or even Cleo. But she had had something, and in some ways, she had been happy, even if things hadn't always been easy. And Rikki had made the best of her experiences and it was a part of who she was, perhaps an even bigger part than Emma had first estimated. But Rikki had made her peace with everything, and Emma knew that she was happy with the life she had right now, it was evident because she smiled a lot more than when they had first met her that faithful day when she stole Zane's spark plug. And Rikki wasn't ready to lose any of it, and this concerned Emma, because last night she had gotten a phone call from Rikki, who had told her what had just happened between her mother and herself.

It was all over, she said. True, it might seem that way, but Emma just had a feeling that perhaps Katherine Chadwick was not someone to just give up without a fight.

She didn't seem like the sort of person to just let go of something she wanted. It was understandable too, though Emma would never say so to Rikki, but she understood Katherine in some ways. It wasn't right for her to just come waltzing back into her daughter's now peaceful life like she had done, but any normal mother would want to have some sort of relationship with her child. It was human instinct. Even Cleo's mother, who had left so suddenly, still saw Kim and Cleo, because she loved them, and they were a part of her. Perhaps it was just the same with Katherine, even if she was handling it very differently, and not very correctly.

Emma sipped the last of her breakfast smoothie out of the huge glass and placed it next to the sink, staring out the window and to the street outside. She felt so uneasy, it wasn't right, something wasn't right. She _knew _these things, she always had.

She had felt exactly like this last night when she had spoken to Rikki on the phone as she lay in her bed with the lights turned off, having already been ready for sleep. She had felt that something was not right with this entire mess, but she had not dared to let Rikki know of this feeling; she didn't want to worry her friend, for the white-haired girl had seemed so happy on the phone; she had been with Zane, and he had been cheery in the background, and Emma had only been able imagine that they'd be celebrating their victory all evening.

She made a face at her own reflection in the window and winced. She did not want to think about them... 'celebrating'. There was no way of knowing how exactly they... celebrated.

Shaking her head slightly, Emma turned to open the fridge so she could find something edible in there, something to bring with her for lunch. It seemed like everything was a major operation for her today; simply getting dressed, making breakfast, _eating_ breakfast and now choosing lunch was terrible for her. But she knew why – it was because she had so many things on her mind, and that could cause even her to be out of it.

Staring at the shelves in the fridge, Emma paused again. How come _nothing_ in there seemed to grasp her attention?

Anyway, they got out of school pretty early today so they'd meet the guys at the Juicenet café right after so they could get the story too. Perhaps she could just eat something there, because there wasn't anything for her liking right now? But she'd still need some fruit to keep her hunger away until later. She really couldn't wait to see Rikki today, because she had a feeling that she'd be out of this world-happy today after her victory last night. And after her... celebrating.

The former swimmer just hoped that it'd last.

"Emma?" her mother questioned, and the blonde girl snapped her head in her direction, zooming out of her own thoughts and back into the real word; she did have to live there after all. "You're awfully slow today." her mother continued in a concerned voice, "You do know that you're gonna be late for school, right?"

Emma turned her hand over and her eyes widened when she saw what time it was. "Oh!" she heard herself exclaim. She reached into the still open fridge, grabbed a banana, an apple and a pear, before she smacked the door close and rushed into the hallway; her school bag was pushed against the wall, so she just had to grab it and she was out of there, stuffing her lunch into it as she went, hoping to make it before the warning bell rang.

-

After ditching her mother last night, Rikki was feeling especially happy. Normally she didn't smile much unless if someone else was being taunted or embarrassed, but today, she couldn't keep the smile off her face. It felt good to have stood up to her mother the way that she had done last night, it was a new feeling, and it was different for her, but it was very nice. It was the right decision, she knew that. Not for any money in the entire world would she go and live with her mother and stepfather, go be a part of the picture perfect family that they wanted. Of course that perfect picture included a child of some sort, and it had been easier for them if Rikki just wanted to be a part of it, but when she didn't, all wasn't lost, they could always adopt, and Rikki did not once feel bad about her decision.

Her life was _here_ now.

"Juices to celebrate!" Ash said and placed a tray on their table with six glasses filled to the brim with juice on it. He handed Rikki one with a smile, "A banana beat box for the superstar." he told her and took a seat next to Emma, who was chewing away on an apple, not really as Emma-like as Rikki would have liked her to be. But she suspected that something might just be on her friend's mind.

Rikki smiled warmly at all her friends again; she knew it was the right decision to stay and be a part of this. What they shared was so special and pure, and even if she didn't have any money living here with her father, this was worth something that no amount of money could get her. She was certain about her choice, she was. "Thanks guys." she grinned to them.

Zane placed a gentle kiss on the side of her head, "I'm so proud of you Rikki, you were so good yesterday."

Rikki gave him an offended stare; what exactly had he thought she'd do? Cave and run off with her mother because it was the easiest thing to do? He should know her better by now – she wasn't like that! "What did you guys thing I'd do?" she questioned them as she glanced around the table, "It wasn't exactly earth science to see what was the right choice. I'd never leave you guys."

"And we know that now, Rikki." Emma confirmed with a slight nod.

Rikki still wasn't convinced completely. If they had actually thought that she'd leave them, then they didn't know her as well as she thought they did. "You honestly thought I would have gone with her?" she asked them again, disbelief streaming through her voice, "Come on, guys, you've gotta give me more credit than that, please!"

Cleo quickly reached a hand out to reassure her, "Of course we didn't think you'd leave, we were just... worried." she softly said, and even if Rikki could tell that it was only to make her feel better, she decided to drop it and enjoy her victory, after all, that was what this was all about.

And when she thought about it, it would have been hard for them to figure out what she'd do. She wasn't exactly an easy read, or someone who was understood among her friends. But they all cared for her, and had hoped for the best, and the best was what they got – she was here now, wasn't she? She had done what she thought was the right thing, and she had certainly been rewarded of that last night when her and Zane had left the restaurant; her father had gone straight home, but they had gone off to Zane's place to be alone. She did not once doubt how happy Zane was that she was still there. It was nice to know that she was being appreciated in that way.

"But there's nothing to be worried about now!" Lewis cheered across from her, easing the tension as per usual, "She's gone now, right? So let's propose a toast for Rikki."

They all reached for each a juice and she shook her head at them, "No." she firmly said, trying to act serious, but it was hard, because happiness was evident in all her friends' faces, and it radiated off on her, "Not just for me. For all of us – for friendship."

Ash raised his glass, "I agree – for friendship."

"For friendship." the all agreed and clinked their glasses together at once, juice slightly overspilling, before they all raised their drinks to their mouths for a sip.

Cleo placed her glass on the table again and turned to Rikki with a smile that reached all the way into her eyes, "I gotta tell you, Rikki though," she begun, placing both elbows on the table to support herself, "it was so weird how you look like your mother. Emma and I totally thought that she was you when we first saw her."

Rikki sneered, "Please, she looks so much older than me."

"Not from behind!" Cleo disagreed with a slight giggle in her voice, "I'm telling you, the hair, the eyes and the smile – that's all you Rikki."

Rikki rolled her eyes at her friend; she knew that Cleo was right, she had always looked like her mother, and it had only gotten more as she grew up. Her father constantly reminded her of it, too, so it was kind of hard not to be aware of it. And she didn't mind really. Her mother was pretty good-looking, and as long as it was only by looks that she was like her. She did not want to turn into her mother personality-wise. That would just be too horrible.

Zane placed his arm around her, "She's right Rikki babe, you do look like your mother."

"Not you too!" she whined, but this time it was pretty evident to everyone that she was only messing around with them, and they all chuckled, except Emma, who seemed pretty much off in her own world, doing her Emma-things. Rikki did not want to question it though, even if it was rather weird.

"So what should we do next weekend?" Lewis questioned them, and they all fell into immediate talk about what was happening around town next Saturday. Ash was pretty sure that both he and Emma might have to work, but Emma didn't say a thing, and Cleo feared that she might have to watch Kim if her father had something to do. Rikki didn't really participate in their conversation. There was still plenty of time until next weekend; still four days of agony in school before she was free for two days, and it would be painful to think of a fun weekend ahead while being stuck in science.

In stead, the curly-haired girl's eyes searched every inch of Emma's monotone face. She seemed awfully struck today, it was a little bit too much, actually. More so than usual when something was bothering her. Ordinarily, she had everything so well together, not a thing could pull her out of her safe plans, so whatever this was, it must be pretty important.

What was she trying to do? Was she planning something? Preventing something? Was she concerned, worried? Did something happen?

Rikki was just about to open her mouth and just plain out ask her about it, when Emma's eyes snapped wide open and she sneered, "I knew it, I knew it was too good to be true."

Ash gave her a questionable look, "What's wrong, Em?"

Emma raised an eyebrow and nodded her head slightly forward, which caused the rest of them to turn around in their seats to look, "I knew it was too good to be true." she simply stated, and they watched in horror as Katherine came to a stop right behind Cleo and Lewis.

Rikki could feel her breath hitch in her throat. How come she had been foolish enough to actually think that this was over? How come she had been so stupid? She should have known her mother better, she was not someone to just give up. Whatever she had planned next, Rikki was sure that it wouldn't be pretty.

"Hello everyone." she said in a fake voice, "Hello Zane, Rikki – I must say, I did not appreciate the way you two walked out on me last night, that was highly unmannered."

Rikki made a face – who was she to talk about manners? "Well, I guess I didn't have a mother around to teach me these things." she simply said, fired it right back at her; she would not take this shit, not this second time around, that was for sure.

Katherine leaned down slightly, so she could look her daughter in the eye as she spoke, "If you think this is over, Rikki, you're clearly wrong. We will not stop until we get what we want; and we rather want to have you with us, darling, it's just so much more convenient."

Convenient? Convenient for what? Their perfect family? The picture in that frame upon that shelf in their huge, soulless house? Rikki would not become a part of that, even if it was was 'convenient' for them.

"You better back off now, Katherine." she heard Zane sneer, and turned her head to him in surprise. She should have known though, that he had just about had it with this too. He was not one to take things sitting down, and he had been rather patient considering everything. In the past, well, he had been much more fierce. She had seen it happen plenty of times before they started dating. Actually, often, she had been the one to trick it since she seemed to constantly get under his skin.

Katherine laughed at his silly attempt for control, "What are you going to do about it?"

Zane swallowed loudly, "I'm not gonna let you take Rikki away from me, from _us._" he firmly said, making sure that she had understood him completely. However, Rikki knew that, if her mother was anything like her, it wouldn't bite.

Katherine turned to look at her daughter, not phased at all, "Rikki darling? You didn't tell me you got yourself a little protector."

Rikki gave Zane a look and pushed herself away from him, so she could stand up and face her mother, eye to eye. She did not appreciate someone making fun of her that way; she had never needed a protector, and she was never going to need one, not now, not ever. As she didn't take charity, she could look out for herself.

"I don't need any _protector._" she said, sneering the last word in her mother's face, "But I agree with Zane, back off now, I don't want to come live with you, get over it – _Mum_."

She threw the last part in just for the kicks, and to see how her mother reacted to that one.

Katherine crossed her arms across her chest and shook her head at her for a few seconds, before she said, "Rikki. Sweet, sweet Rikki..." she begun, "I didn't exactly want to do this, but you're leaving me with no choice," she paused again, and Rikki feared what her next trick was going to be. She had plenty of them, Rikki knew that, for she had always been that way, "I've got to have you, no matter what it takes. If you don't come freely, I will have to take this to court."

Rikki felt her breath hitch in her throat. She didn't know what to say, couldn't say a word, because she was too angry. Clenching her fists by her sides, she tried her best to focus all her energy at not heating anything up, though it would probably be a good idea to let their drinks be. She was simply too angry right now, she couldn't control her anger towards her mother.

She had _some _nerve pulling out the court-card. Katherine knew, just as well as Rikki did, that if it came to court, things would not play out well for her father. And Katherine's husband had money to get the best lawyer, while her father would have to settle for a free attorney.

Rikki clenched her fists even tighter and out of the corner of her eye, she saw all six juices bubble up as she tried to cool her anger off, but it was so hard when that devil was standing right in front of her, smirking like she had just gotten the whole world in her hand. She could see Cleo's eyes widen, as the brunette leaned slightly forward, pretending to be casual, but just blocking the view to the juices with her entire body.

Katherine raised her eyebrow and simply said, "Let me know what you think." with her voice, that was nauseating syrupy sweet. Then she gave her daughter one last smirk, turned and walked right out of there, her heels clicking against the floor as she went.

Rikki watched her go, as she tried to calm her breathing down, taking in even breaths, letting them out ever so slowly. She saw Cleo pull back into her seat from the awkward position across the table, and as the brunette stupidly reached for one of the boiling glasses, the blonde snapped, "Don't touch it!" she hissed, turned back around and sat down on her seat. She gave Cleo another look, her jaw clenched tightly, "It's boiling hot." she elaborated, and Cleo retreated her hand, letting it rest limply on the table.

She felt Zane's hand sneak up to touch her, but she shrugged it off. "I'm so pissed right now." she got through her gritted teeth; she could hardly explain to them what was going on inside her right now. Anger, worry and actual fear for having to leave town was meshed together, and she didn't know how to handle that. Mostly she just wanted to jump into the water and swim off to be alone, but she knew that it would do no good; they'd follow her, they'd find her, and eventually she'd have to talk anyway.

Lewis shot her a confused look from across the table; he had his arms around Cleo's shoulder, since the brunette seemed quite taken with the treatment Rikki had just given her; she wasn't good with harsh voices like that. "What just happened Rikki?" he hissed and leaned in closer, "You know you can't loose control like that!"

Rikki turned her head to look at him, and as their eyes met, she felt herself boiling inside again, boiling because he was telling her what to do on top of everything, and it made her so fucking angry, and if he just left her the hell alone then maybe she could actually calm down, and as she clenched her fists again, one of the drinks, her own banana beat box, which was closest to her, boiled over, and spilled its contents onto the table.

"Don't tell me what to do!" she snapped right back at him, making sure that her eyes showed just how angry and annoyed she was right now – it would be wiser to just let her be at the moment.

Emma scoffed at her, "Don't get angry at him, Rikki, it's your mother you're really angry with, don't take it out on the rest of us, we have nothing do to with it." she said as a matter of fact.

Rikki turned her head to meet her eyes, just to glare at her as well, but the look in her deep, dark blue pools told her not to bother. Emma was right in this case, Rikki knew that, and she felt herself calm down slightly, release her fingers from their lock, as she breathed shakily out. Emma held her eyes in a firm lock, until she looked away, clearly pleased with herself.

Rikki turned back to Lewis, "I'm sorry," she whispered to him; she still felt shaky after everything that had just happened, but she knew it was no use freaking out on her friends, the people who really cared about her, "you too Cleo, I didn't mean to snap at you."

Cleo did not hold the grudge for very long; she smiled at Rikki again, and everything was forgotten within a second, "It's okay Rikki, I know how hard this must be on you."

Rikki offered her the biggest smile she could muster, before she leaned slightly back, happy that Zane welcomed her back to his chest even if she had pushed him off before. His arms wrapped around her in a comfortable position and he hugged her tightly, just to reassure her a bit, and it felt good.

"You shouldn't worry about it, Rikki," Ash assured her from his seat next to Emma, "even if she decides to take this to court, they'll listen to you, you're old enough to make your own decisions."

Rikki didn't look up for a few seconds; there was something right about what Ash was telling her, but she still didn't feel good about it. Yes, they'd probably listen to her to some extend, but somewhere, they had to draw a line, and she was pretty sure that her father had crossed that long ago. They hadn't exactly lived following the law, and they'd know that, they'd dig through that, and no court in their right mind would let her stay with him, even if it was her wishes, if they thought that she would be poorly affected, affected to live outside the law.

"They will... won't they?" Cleo softly trailed off, clearly doubting the entire situation.

Rikki looked up at them again and shook her head, "I don't think they'll let me choose once they dig a little into my father's background." she said, now completely sure that there was no way out of it; she would have to move with her mother before it got as far as to court – it'd expose her father and ruin what little that was left of him; he'd not be able to get just a decent job somewhere, "They won't let me stay with him, thinking I'll be under bad influence, let's face it, he's not always reliable to take care of me."

Cleo winched at the idea, and Rikki could feel Zane hold her tighter. Emma seemed quite worried as well, and with a sigh she leaned back in the seat, "There must be something we can do." she tried, crossing her arms and taking a thinking-pose, "There must be some way out of this, avoiding your mother, avoiding court. There has to be."

Rikki bit her lip, thinking too. She couldn't, by any means, see a way out of this. If there was a way, she surely would have found it right now, wouldn't she? She usually saw these things easier than anyone. And if she hadn't seen it, then so would Zane have, "I've got nothing." she admitted and looked up at her friends again with hopelessness. This really was it, wasn't it?

"It's out of our hands, I guess." Ash sighed in defeat and shook his head, "It's not humanly possible to sneak our way out of this."

Lewis, who had, until now, been very quiet except his outburst earlier, looked up, as if this was his cue, "No..." he softly begun, a sneaky smile finding its way onto his lips. He reached a hand out and touched the side of his ruined juice with a careful fingertip, "..not _humanly_.. possible..." he trailed off, and in a saying suggestion pushed his juice across the table until it was in front of Rikki.

Rikki looked up to lock eyes with him, completely understanding where he was coming from, hearing him empathize the word 'humanly' just barely. She could feel a smile conquering her face as well, and she felt her spirit lift slightly – there might be a way out of this. She chuckled, "Not humanly... possible," she said and let a finger grace the top of the glass, tracing the circle there, "but certainly possible for three mermaids... right?" she glanced up at her two best friends, feeling her eyes glimpse in the sun streaming through the window.

Emma glanced to the side, briefly at Cleo, before she nodded her head, "It should be." she said, a smile reaching her eyes as well.

Rikki's eyes fell on Cleo.

"Right..." the brunette said, in a slight sneaky voice, and before Rikki knew it, the six of them were bumping heads (literally) as they tried to work out the perfect plan of how to get rid of Katherine Chadwick soon to be Madsen, while making sure that she _never_ felt the desire to come back.

-

As Rikki approached the lonely figure standing near the water, feet barely touching it as the waves pulled up, then back, she did not feel worried or nervous. She was pretty confident that their plan was bullet-proof. They'd get rid of her mother, and she'd never have to think about it again, never have to worry that someday, somehow, her mother would win, and she'd have to leave. Of course, when she turned eighteen, it would not be a problem, but there was still a couple of years until that happened, and she just could not take that risk.

Their plan was made out completely, and they knew exactly who did what, so it would not be a problem. The three of them had some wicked powers separately, but when they worked together, they could accomplish just about anything; they had proved that when they took down Charlotte at the moon pool at Mako Island. She had had the powers of three in one, and yet they still overruled her.

Rikki knew why that was. They had something that she didn't. They had something that her mother didn't have either, something that only lucky people had, something that many people thrived to get – they had _each other_, they were _friends_. And it might sound corny, but the bond they had between them was stronger than anything, and it could not be broken just like that. Rikki surrendered to that bond again tonight; it'd get her through this, with the help of her friends, she'd glide through this with ease.

The spot was cleverly chosen as a part of their plan – they'd need water for their powers and they'd need to be secluded, just so no one else would notice them. They all knew that Katherine would figure out that something was up with them when the waters started corrupting her, but they were certain that she'd ran away with her tail between her legs instead of trying to figure out what they had to do with it. She seemed like a coward in that way.

Zane, Lewis and Ash were hiding between some rocks so they'd come to the rescue in case it was needed, and Emma and Cleo were just down the beach on the other side, coming to back Rikki up as soon as she had talked to her mother in private for a few minutes. She did not know exactly what to say, because she had no idea what her mother would do once she got to her, so it all depended on that, but in some way or another, the talk would be about Katherine's plan to get Rikki to come with her, and that was exactly the subject Rikki wanted to discuss.

Taking a deep breath, Rikki stepped closer to her mother with firm steps, patting through the sand in her black converse. The sun was burning hot, not a cloud could be seen, but all that was about to change. She did not want to get too close to the water, in case some might splash her, but she still needed her mother to be just near enough to it, near enough so it'd touch her, cover her bare feet.

Katherine's high heels were carelessly thrown in the sand and Rikki stopped a few feet behind her mother, right next to them. Katherine had probably heard her coming, for she turned around, nudged her feet through the sand with a contend smile across her sun-kissed face.

"Some odd place to have a meet-up, Rikki darling." she said, not commenting on anything that had happened between them up to this point, which was probably better for starters.

Rikki stuck her hands into her pockets; she could feel her friends' eyes on them, but it was only reassuring, "Well, I like the secluded spots." she replied in a throaty voice, glancing around the place, remembering all the times they had come here to swim with the guys, so no one would notice their scaly tails.

Katherine swept a curl out of her face, the wind pushing it backwards once more, "Just like your father, you are." she replied.

Rikki knew that it would do no good to beat so long around the bush, and the subject had to be addressed eventually, so she might as well get it over with, "Did you really mean what you said about taking this to court, Mum? _Really_?" she questioned her, making sure to let her voice be thick with disbelief, just to let know how much she disapproved of this.

Katherine took a step closer to her, the balls of her heels barely touching the water, though droplets were still running down her legs, to her feet, meshing into the sand below. "Of course Rikki," she said, in the sweetest voice possible, "I only want good things for you, and you can't get them here. It might be hard at first, leaving your friends behind, but it'll be better in the end, you'll have all the possibilities in the world."

Rikki raised a suspicious eyebrow. Her mother should not, not once, try to convince her that this was for her own good – there was no way that they were doing this for her, what a filthy lie to say right to her face! She was such a fake, Rikki almost felt like spitting it to her, straight like that, but that was not a part of the plan. Instead, she closed her fist slightly, focusing momentarily on the droplets trailing down her mother's milky skin.

Katherine's hand dropped to her calves as soon as she felt the stinging as Rikki boiled the water off of her. Her hand brushed her legs repeatedly, but she did not say anything, completely focused on Rikki, probably thinking that it was just the sun shining particularly much right that second, stinging her sensitive skin.

Rikki released her fingers, sending her mother a sneaky smile, "I don't think court is such a good idea, Mum. It'll take a while before it goes through, I'm already 16, almost 17, you'll have me for like, what? Six months, a year tops." she smirked at her, knowing that she was completely right, and that it'd be stupid to even start this discussion when she was soon an adult and could live on her own.

Katherine briefly laughed at her, "It's not just about that Rikki, God, you're so naïve-"

Rikki felt her fingers clench together at their own accord; she could _not_ stand it when someone called her naïve, she could _not_ stand it when someone treated her like a baby, and least of all, she could _simply not_ stand it when someone made a fool of her.

"-it's about the fight, about principles." Katherine chuckled again, "I just want to see your father squirm, Rikki. All he ever wanted was to make it good for you, all the other things, they didn't matter, as long as you were alright." she paused again, "How did you think I felt, knowing that? Even when we divorced, all he cared about was getting _you_!"

"Well, at least he cares about me!" Rikki felt herself snap back, her fingers turning white at her sides, as she held back with all her power, though that was not nearly enough; she could see the water boiling behind her mother, she could see heat radiating off the perfectly-coloured feet in the sand, and the stinging on her mother's face, as small drops of sweat disappeared off of her forehead. She clenched her fingers even further, knowing that she'd soon be blowing that bitch away with everything she had, "We might not have much, but we get by." she finished in a low voice, "It's enough for me, I don't ever wanna see you again, and I do _not _want you to take this to court, I swear it Mum, you'll regret it!"

Katherine brushed a shaky finger across her forehead, and Rikki almost felt like smiling, though she held it back; the heat was getting to her, "And just, what exactly are you gonna do, Rikki dear? You're powerless next to me, you do know that, right? You're just a silly 16-year-old girl – you're not comparable to what I can do. You're all alone, and I have the world in my back pocket."

Rikki released her fingers again, seeing Cleo and Emma approach them behind her mother's back, "I might be silly at times, Mum, but that doesn't mean I can't handle you."

"And she's certainly not alone, either." Emma added, as she and Cleo swept pass Katherine, on each side of her, before they stopped next to Rikki and turned back around to grin mercilessly at the older woman. Rikki knew that they had her now, only a few flicks with their hands and she'd run off to her husband and never dare to set foot here again – they were going to wing this, the blonde was sure of that.

Cleo gave a nod in agreement, "No, because we'll always be here for her. We're best friends."

Rikki felt a nudge on her arm and she glanced quickly back at Cleo with a warm smile, before she turned back around to her mother with a stern face, "You sure you wanna do this, Mum?" she questioned her, gave her one last option to back out of this, though she knew her mother wouldn't take it. They hadn't done anything intimidating yet, so she'd still think that she had it all down, just with two more girls in the way.

Katherine seemed very amused, which only supported Rikki's theory, "What? Now you're three silly 16-year-old girls? Am I supposed to ran off scared?" she questioned them.

The looks on their faces certainly told her that she should, and as they took a step closer to her, she took one backwards, and Rikki was highly amused by that fact; they did scare her just a tiny little bit.

"I would be scared." Emma informed her, and Rikki glanced to the side as Cleo pulled her hand out slightly, reached her finger out and pulled the water behind her mother's legs closer and closer. Like someone would pursue a person to come closer as well, she was slowly leading it in the right direction, until Katherine was in angle deep water again and Cleo held her pose.

Katherine glanced down with a confused expression, "What's this?" she squeaked, and Rikki was pleasured with the worried tone in her voice, "How did that water get this close?"

Rikki sneered at her, "Are you stupid? You just stepped right back into it."

And Emma raised an eyebrow next to her, as if to ask permission, and Rikki did only have to raise one right back, before the other girl raised her hand slightly, and with a quick movement, the water right around Katherine's feet froze, froze her to the ground; she would not be able to move an inch.

Katherine's eyes widened again and Rikki felt herself grin. "What this?!" she said, her voice getting more high-pitched as everything seemed to freak her out more and more, "Oh fuck, how did that happen?" she lifted her eyes, scared, and they met Rikki's, huge as they were, "What are you doing?" she whispered.

Rikki glanced briefly at first Emma, then Cleo, before looking back at her mother, "What we're doing? Mum, now you're the silly one, we're just three 16-year-old girls, remember? We're not doing anything." she replied to her in the kindest, most fake voice, she had ever used in her entire life.

Emma and Cleo nodded, trying to look like that story wasn't all that unfamiliar to them.

"But-but-" Katherine paused and inspected the ice cube around her feet, "-but it froze right around me!" she stammered, as she looked up at them again.

Rikki held her eyes in a firm glare, "What froze right around you?" she questioned, just as she closed her hand into a fist, and the ice cube disappeared, cascading into water around her mother's feet.

Katherine looked down again, wanting to explain it, evaporate it, but her eyes turned huge when there was no ice cube around her feet. She looked up again, opened her mouth to speak, to say something, but no words came out. She simply just stood there, mouth agape, looking spectacularly stupid like one of Cleo's fish.

"What. Froze. Around. You?" Rikki said, as she felt the need to make each word clear, speaking to her as she would to a five-year-old who did not understand something.

Katherine breathed out heavily, "Where did it-?"

She did not finish her sentence, and Emma took over before anyone else could say anything else, "Are you going to leave Rikki alone?" she questioned, her voice snappier than Rikki had heard it before, "Are you going to leave here and never come back? Are you going to forget about court and just get out of town?"

"Get _the fuck _out of town." Rikki felt the need to add, just to underline what they wanted to get across.

As she wasn't held firmly in place by any sort of ice at the moment, Katherine's cockiness seemed to come back, and Rikki had suspected it would. Like with Charlotte, they needed to up their game just a little bit. "I don't think so." she said, now stepping closer to them again.

Rikki turned her head to Cleo with a saying look, "Cleo, could you please?" she asked the brunette, referring to the next part of their brilliant plan.

Cleo's happiness was not hidden, "I'd be happy to." she said and an unusual sneaky grin conquered her face as Katherine's eyes fell on her, but before she was able to say a thing or two, Cleo had whipped her arm back, then forward again, and a strong blow of wind hit Katherine square in the chest, and it caused her to blow right back and fall into the water with a huge splash.

She screamed and the three girls stepped as close to the water as they dared, just watching her as she splashed and tried to get her head over water, but it was hard, because for some odd reason, there were plenty of waves crashing around her – not that Cleo had _anything_ to do with that.

Rikki turned when she felt another presence behind her, and was happy to see that the guys had left their hide-out, and that Zane was right behind her, there for moral support. She turned back around and as the waves got smaller, slowly disappearing, she spoke up, "Are you going to leave me alone?" she wanted to know, speaking clearly, loudly, through the splashes.

"What's happening?" was the only thing Katherine could manage to ask them, again and again, and Rikki knew that the water was turning ice cold around her, for Emma had raised her hand slightly.

She could feel both her hands form into fists as there was no answer from her mother, and as Ash slowly pushed Emma's hand down, getting her to cool off, the water suddenly started boiling around her mother, much like it had done with the last person who had made a fool of her.

Zane seemed very amused by this, but she could see, even through her rage, that Cleo and Lewis were shooting each other worried looks – they did _not_ like this.

"Are you going to leave or what?" Zane questioned for her, his demanding tone back with full force.

Rikki could see that she was starting to hurt; her milky skin was flaming up, turning red, and she was splashing and trying to stay on the surface, while she frantically turned her head in every direction, trying to see where all this was coming from, how this was happening to her. And she was whimpering too, like Rikki had never heard anyone whimper before.

Her head snapped back up, and as their eyes locked again, Rikki knew she had won. "Yes! Yes, I'm going to leave!" Katherine screeched, and Rikki slowly uncurled her fingers, and with a flick of her hand, the water was back to normal.

"_Now,_" she growled, giving her mother a hard stare, "I don't ever wanna see you again. Understood?"

Katherine was already making her way out of the water; her clothes clung to her body, her hair was a mess and she had make-up running down her cheeks. This was the worst Rikki had ever seen her mother, and she truly enjoyed it, every damn second of it. "Yes!" she chipped, stopping only briefly to give them all a scared look, before she brushed through them, grabbed her high heels, and ran off down the beach, as quickly as her feet could carry her.

Rikki felt Cleo's arms wrap around her as the first thing, while she followed her mother's retreating figure, "You were so good, Rikki!" she said, and Rikki tore her eyes away from the devil and back to her friends, truly happy that it was now over, though she couldn't help but be sad that they hadn't been able to toy with her just a bit more before she had given in.

Zane kissed her happily on the mouth, and Emma gave her a sideways hug, "I'm so proud of you, Rikki, you controlled you anger – you didn't actually hurt her!" the blonde said, a smile sweeping across her gorgeous face, and Rikki knew she was right. It was good. She hadn't hurt her, even if she had wanted to, she had held it back and reached the limit, but not crossed it.

"I really thought you were going to burn her." Lewis told her in a concerned voice, but he still pulled her close and gave her an awkward hug, "But I'm glad you're going to stay here with us." he told her, as they parted.

"Yeah!" Ash added as she received a pat on the shoulder from him, "Our lives would be so boring without all your drama!"

Rikki gave them all a contend smile, "It's pretty damn good to be staying here." she said, for the first time speaking, because as nice at it was to know that this was for good, it still felt weird to know that there would be no more emails, letters or phone calls with her mother. It had always been a part of her, and now it was no more.

She felt like a part of her might have left with her mother, as she ran down that beach.

"It's good to have you here, babe." Zane told her, again placing a chaste kiss on her lips, not caring that they had an audience, though they usually preferred not to do the least with their friends around.

Rikki's eyes turned towards the sea behind her, and as Mako caught her sight, she gave her two best friends a sneaky grin, "Wanna go for a swim?" she quickly asked, and before either of them could answer, she ran into the sun-warmed water, diving head first, sure that the both of them would follow, and that the guys would soon be behind them in Zane's Zodiac.

As she felt her tail grow out and she flicked it to take off, Rikki was more certain that she had ever been:

This was it.

This was the life.

* * *

_So yeah. After an impromptu late night jog (I usually prefer jogging before breakfast) I decided to sit down and finish the last of this chapter. I had my last exam today and it feels damn good to be off for summer break, and be able to focus completely on my writing without feeling guilty because I should be revising instead. _

_I hope you enjoyed this last instalment. I know this wasn't the longest fic, but that was partly due to the fact that the story-line wasn't really meaty enough for more chapters, and also me knowing that starting a chaptered fic was not the right option when I started writing this a few weeks ago. _

_I was mildly disappointed by the reviews I received from chapter two, because I got the impression that you guys really wanted to read more as you told me to "update as soon as possible" after posting chapter one, and I only received one review (thank you SparkleInTheSun) and I had hoped to hear from all of you again, because your opinions mean a lot to me. I truly hope you'll all drop one off for this last chapter, because it's un-fulfilling receiving no response whatsoever when I work hard on a chapter, doing research and rewriting to get everyone in character. _

_Anyway, thanks for reading, I hope to write more in this category at some point, I actually have two one-shot ideas that I need to work on, but I might try my hand at writing Twilight first or possibly write something for one of the categories in which I've written before. But I'll definitely try to post my two ideas at some point, in which one of them is a Zikki one-shot (and this time it's about them as a couple, so there should be more moments), and then I thought I might try my hand at pairing Cleo and Rikki off, since no one else has dared to do so in this category, and well, it just sounds like a lot of fun, so that'll be the other one-shot. _

_**Disclaimer; **I do not own H2O: Just Add Water. _


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